On Dec. 21 and Dec. 22, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division’s Iowa Pledge program, conducted tobacco compliance checks of area tobacco product merchants using an underage undercover purchaser. Of the twenty-five (25) Linn County tobacco product retailers checked (excluding the Cedar Rapids, Marion, and Hiawatha metro area), zero (0) violated Iowa’s tobacco laws by selling cigarettes/tobacco products to a person under the age of eighteen (21).
We had one hundred percent (100%) compliance with our Linn County Merchants.
Penalties for illegal tobacco sales in Iowa are as follows: employee: first violation — $135 fine, second violation — $325 fine, third and subsequent violations — $645 fine; retailer: first violation — $300 civil penalty, second violation (within two years) — $1,500 fine or 30-day suspension of tobacco sales permit, third violation (within three years) — $1,500 fine and 30-day suspension of tobacco sales permit, fourthth violation (within three years) — $1,500 fine and 60-day suspension of tobacco sales permit, fifth violation (within four years) — revocation of tobacco sales permit.
Additional compliance checks may be conducted at any time throughout the year.